(Newser)
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T-Mobile parent Deutsche Telekom may bid for troubled Sprint-Nextel, a deal that would move the German telecom to the top of the US mobile communications heap, ahead of AT&T and Verizon, reports the Wall Street Journal. DT increasingly has looked to global options to help fuel earnings hurt by competition and sagging landline revenue at home.

T-Mobile, currently fourth in the US market, has seen consistent revenue and subscriber growth and has been a star for DT. Sprint, the nation’s No. 3 mobile provider, has fallen on hard times recently, hemorrhaging subscribers and money, including a $29.5 billion loss in the fourth quarter. Sprint’s share price has hovered below $10, off its 52-week high of $23.42.